In Portland

Well, we made it to Portland today after an overnight in a Motel 6 in Pendleton, Oregon. Pam and I have been sharing the cost of the lodgings and I took the Motel 6! Cheapest one we stayed in all week - lucky for me. Pendleton is a very neat old town, and we had the best meal of our whole week. Northwest Salmon and a great Oregon salad. We are going to take my car to the shop tomorrow for service, and have lunch with mine and Pam's friend, Leslie, and her precious little girl, Addi. They have made me feel so welcome in Portland. I have a lot to do before I move in my apartment. I don't start my rent until September 1 and I probably won't move everything in until after Labor Day. I am glad to be at Pam's and this is the end of the blog. I will keep up with everybody through Facebook and e-mail.

In Pendleton, Oregon

We left Lava Hot Springs this morning, and we were ready. It was good place to hang out for a few days, but it was time to go. We have had quite an adventure, but I miss my dogs and my friends and mom is ready to get settled into Portland. We probably could have made it all the way, but we were tired and so was the car. At our last fill up spot, we noticed the Corolla was making a weird knocking noise. When we checked the oil, the dipstick came up dry! Yikes! We filled it with 3 quarts and decided only to go as far as Pendleton. No worries, we think she's fine, just exhausted. She's getting a checkup on our return.

We had a great dinner at Hamley's Steakhouse. Mom and I shared a Salmon entree and had a great Oregon salad with a variety of greens (yea, no iceberg lettuce!), hazelnuts, and marionberry vinaigrette. Fabulously Oregon! Tomorrow....HOME!

Soak, Massage, Read, Relax....Ahhhhh

That's what today has been all about. Our journey is almost done, but today there was no driving, no alarm clocks, just relaxing-soaks and reading throughout the day, early afternoon massages, and then dinner at the Chuckwagon (I know it doesn't sound that great, but we had some great trout and potatoes.). Mom keeps beating me at backgammon, but I keep trying.

Tomorrow we have to get back in the car again, and I'm ready to get out of Idaho. I think we've exhausted the things to do in Lava Hot Springs anyway. I don't know where we'll end up between here and Portland, but most likely La Grande or Pendleton. Stay tuned.

Lava Hot Springs, ID

I don't know why Pam wants my ugly face in her videos - but oh, well. We are in a cool bed and breakfast in Lava Hot Springs and we soaked in one of the hot springs on their property. They have 5 or 6 hot springs. Today we are going to have massages - ahh! Tomorrow we start on our way to Portland. Since it would take us about 12 hours to get to Portland, we are going to stop somewhere on the way - probably about half way. Food is still a challenge. Vegetarian and/or fish choices are limited. For that we will be glad to get to Portland. It has been a fun trip and a good time for Pam and I to be together.

Arrival in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho

Boulder-Day 2

We had another great day in Boulder-shopping, eating, and sightseeing. Some of you know how much I love the literary work of the Beat Poets. Well, Naropa University is here and right next to our hotel. Naropa is a "Buddhist inspired, contemplative education" university. Allen Ginsberg was instrumental in starting the school and the emphasis is on peace and the environment. I was pretty excited to be on campus. Otherwise in Boulder, the day was absolutely perfect weather-wise and the food....fantastic. Trout tacos at lunch were the highlight and everyone at Zolo's Grill was so friendly and cool. We had the pool to ourselves when we got back to the hotel and then we took a soak. Mom kicked my butt at travel backgammon, and after Chinese delivery, we are settling in and will get ready in the morning to move on to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho.

Ahhh....Boulder

The Midwest is behind us and we are happy about it. We arrived in Boulder, Colorado this afternoon around 5 and took a walk to the Pearl St Mall and had some dinner at the Lazy Dog Grill. Tonight, the vegetables were real vegetables and the salmon was delicious. Afterwards, we took a soak at the whirlpool at the hotel, and came back to the room to relax. Tomorrow, we have another day in Boulder. We are going to try to make the Asian Cultural Festival here in town. It's going to be nice to have a day off the road.